Manhattanites were hit with a torrential rain storm that turned the air from a humid summer swelter to a soggy downpour in a New York minute.

As pedestrians took cover, meteorologists looked for explanations.

'It went out with a bang,' National Weather Service meteorologist Joey Pica said of the triple-digit heat that suffocated the city for the past three days.

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New York was hit by a quick and fast rainstorm Wednesday afternoon

Bolt from above: The Empire State Building is struck by lightning during the fierce storm

The approaching storm: The threatening clouds collecting over the Manhattan skyline gave a clear impression of the dark weather to come

While those on the ground watched in disbelief as a sunny day turned into a hailstorm with inch-wide ice chunks hurling down from the sky, the best view was from above.

Instagram and Twitter quickly filled with images of the storm from people flying around the city at the time of the late-afternoon storm.

Arguably the best image comes from former NFL player Dhani Jones, who captured a moment when all of the precipitation of the city swirled in one frightful column, harkening something out of a villainous fantasy film.

At the time, Jones was flying out of LaGuardia airport, which is in Queens, and was able to see over Queens and into part of Manhattan.

Dangerous: Light hail turned into full-fledged ice cubes as the storm continued to worsen

Hitting the skyscrappers: The Citibank Building (left) and the Bloomberg Building (right) were both hit by lightning during the afternoon storm

Taking cover: People tried to hide beneath buildings as the heavy rain turned quickly into large- and unexpected- pieces of hail

The true warning came at 3.38pm when
AccuWeather.com issued a severe thunderstorm watch and flood advisory
for New York City and nearby Long Island City.

At that time, the temperature had
reached 94 degrees, which was down from the triple-digit highs reached
during the past three days.

To get the word out the the more than 8million people who live and work in Manhattan's five boroughs, city government officials used the mobile phone emergency warning system for the first time since the program was started in May of last year.

Electric: A lightning strike was seen clearly by one Twitter user in downtown Manhattan looking out at the water

Bad day for sports fans: The New York Yankees were in the seventh inning of their game against the Toronto Blue Jays but the game was eventually called and the Yankees won 6-0

Brewing over Brooklyn: Another picture of storm clouds sent in from instagram user erinolan

Enormous hail stones batter down on cars in Manhattan

Instagram and Twitter quickly filled with images of the storm from people flying around the city at the time of the late-afternoon storm

Though the bulk of the storms were finished by about 6pm, the repercussions will likely be felt into the evening as flash floods caused transit and road delays.

There was also reports of fallen trees in the suburbs in Westchester and New Jersey which caused damage, though the extent of the destruction is not clear.

NBC News reports that thousands lost power in New York and one injury is being linked to the storm but no details have been released about the nature of that injury or the identity of the victim.

While the majority of the storm may have passed the Big Apple, the National Weather Service has now issued a severe weather warning for Washington D.C., predicting that the capital will be hit by hail up to 1.5-inch in diameter and winds of up to 70 miles per hour to come by 9pm.

Damage underground: There was quick flooding in the 34th Street- Penn Station subway stop

VIDEO: Lightning strikes over 50 times near the Robert Moses Causeway Bridge.